Biking to Work Won't End with Team Bike Challenge

Today may be the last day of the Team Bike Challenge and Bike to Work Month, but I won’t be taking off my helmet just yet.

Riding my bike as often as possible this month has taught me that practically every day can be Bike to Work Day. If I do a little planning and figure out my route before I set off for a meeting, biking becomes even easier. Just because the official monthlong event is over doesn’t mean I’ll stay in my car from now on.

The greatest benefit for me has been all the exercise I can fit into my daily routine. I used to only be able to exercise early in the morning, late at night, or occasionally during a lunch hour. When I biked to work, however, I turned many of my trips to meetings into workouts.

After looking back at the log I kept of my bike trips, I was surprised how many days I biked more than 5 miles. In total I biked nearly 100 miles during the month. I’m sure that many people competing in the Team Bike Challenge logged even more, and that just shows how much of a difference one person can make.

Together, we prevented hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic emissions from polluting our air and water. Let’s not forget the money saved on gasoline and car repairs. Not only did I avoid driving 100 miles, I also didn’t sit in my car at stop lights, creep along in traffic, or drive circles around parking lots while looking for parking spaces. All of these things add up, and riding a bike for just one day can save a lot more than I thought.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog about my bike trips and the work I do with the county. Although I may not keep this blog up to date after today, you can still keep track of my work by signing up for my e-mail newsletter. To be added to my list, please feel free to contact John Myers of my staff by clicking here.

Working Out During the Commute Hour

Sometimes, Jerri-Ann Meyer is so busy that the only way for her to exercise is to turn her workday commute into a workout.

Jerri-Ann, the captain of my Bike Challenge team, rides 20 miles every day from her home in Mountain View to her office in Menlo Park and back again.

To complete her commute, Jerri-Ann follows the Ellen Fletcher Bike Boulevard along Bryant Street in Palo Alto. The street is blocked off to only allow bicycles through in some places so that cars don’t drive the entire length of the route.

“It reduces auto traffic and makes it more friendly to bikes,” Jerri-Ann says.

A route such as this can help local commuters realize that riding a bike can be a pleasant experience and less stressful than driving a car.

“People think of the freeway experience in a car as a commute,” she says. “But on a bike, there are safe and comfortable routes that make it a good experience.”

The Bike Boulevard also helps turn biking into a social activity, she says.

“A lot of times, I will strike up conversations and talk to everyone about where they’re riding,” she says. “It’s like a little community.”

During the past six years that Jerri-Ann has been commuting, she has gotten more involved in promoting bicycling as an everyday mode of transportation.

As a member of Silicon Valley Bike Coalition’s Board of Directors, she has worked to improve the safety of bicyclists on the road. On Bike to Work Day a couple weeks ago, she inflated tires, tuned-up bikes, and encouraged bicyclists at the downtown Mountain View Energizer Station.

For five years, Jerri-Ann has served on the City of Mountain View’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The committee recently released a new map of bike routes in Mountain View, and Jerri-Ann and her fellow committee members are currently working to update the city’s bicycle transportation plan.

Jerri-Ann has even taken her love of bicycling to the small screen. With other bicycle advocates from the Peninsula and South Bay, she appeared in a 30-minute television program titled “Try Bicycling!” to show how easy it is for local commuters to find quick, safe bike routes in their neighborhood.

“Silicon Valley is pretty flat and the distance from home to work is usually not far,” she says. “A lot of times, people can travel just as fast or faster than in a car.”

Jerri-Ann says one of the big rewards of biking to work is reducing stress.

“When I was sick in January, I had to drive, and it’s so stressful being in a car,” she says. “I couldn’t wait to get back on my bike, because it’s such a pleasant ride.”

Keeping Up With the Team Bike Challenge No Matter What

My Team Bike Challenge teammate, Leslee Hamilton, found a way to hop on a bicycle even when she visited Washington, D.C., on a business trip this month.

While visiting the nation’s capital, Leslee rented a bike to explore the city’s sites.

“It’s a good alternative to taking a cab to get to the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial,” she says.

Leslee has been biking to work every day this month as a member of my team for the Team Bike Challenge. Leslee, myself and three other teammates have been biking as much as possible to show how easy it is to make the bicycle a primary mode of transportation.

For Leslee, however, biking to work is a much more serious endeavor. For about six years now, she has ridden the 3.5-mile roundtrip from her house near Cahill Park in San Jose to the Mineta Transportation Institute downtown. She parks her bike in her office on the fourth floor.

“The only downside is that I have to take the elevator,” she says. “Without the bike, I used to take the stairs.”

Although the ride from home to work is pretty much a straight shot for Leslee, she says she encounters a lot of traffic.

“That’s why I love to ride the Guadalupe River Park Trail,” she says. “I’ve never had a serious problem with cars, but I’d just as soon not share the road.”

As current president of the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Guadalupe River Park & Gardens, Leslee has worked to improve and extend the trail running through downtown San Jose. She and I both look forward to the day that the trail goes from Alviso to Almaden Valley without interruptions.

For people who don’t regularly bike to work, Leslee says all you need is a little inspiration.

“Six years ago, I saw someone from my neighborhood bike to work, and it took the same amount of time as driving,” she says. “At that moment, I knew I could ride my bike to work every day.”

Still Biking Strong After Bike to Work Day

As many as 100,000 people pedaled their way to work yesterday for 511’s 13th annual Bike to Work Day.

The South Bay kicked off the event with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s CEO/Celebrity Bike to Work Day Challenge, and I was happy to join fellow elected officials, media columnists, and local business leaders on a ride through downtown San Jose.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has been promoting Bike to Work Day to show Bay Area residents alternatives to their daily commutes on local freeways. As Santa Clara County’s representative on the commission, I have worked to reduce commute times and find environmentally friendly ways to get to work. Be sure to check out the photos of the event to see who biked to work in your neighborhood.

Last night, I stopped by the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition’s “Bike Away From Work Bash” at Gordon Biersch in downtown San Jose. I had a chance to relax after a long day of biking with refreshments and a silent auction to support bicycling as an everyday means of transportation.
I am still going strong in the Team Bike Challenge, so even after yesterday’s events, I jumped on my bike this morning and headed to my office.

After biking to work today, I pinned a green ribbon onto my lapel to commemorate Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Supervisor Liz Kniss and I presented Lance Toma of the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center and Dena Dickinson, co-chair of the HIV Planning Council, with an official proclamation from the county to show our support for an important issue.

HIV/AIDS affects all communities, and we need to everything we can educate all our residents about the disease. The official awareness day is tomorrow, but we decided to hold an event at the County Government Center today and feature many organizations and performers that support the Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

Rolling Down Santa Clara Street for Bike to Work Day

Dozens of business and community leaders took off on their bicycles from the San Jose Diridon Train Station today, rode down Santa Clara Street, and arrived at City Hall to celebrate Bike to Work Day 2007.
The 8 a.m. ride was a challenge to CEOs, media personalities, and elected officials to be role models for the annual event. At a press conference after the trip, I was pleased to join fellow elected officials in acknowledging everyone who left the car at home and hopped on a bike. Not only does this annual event prevent waves of environmentally unfriendly gases from pouring into our atmosphere, it also shows commuters the ease of biking to work.

As Santa Clara County’s representative on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, I was happy to see so many commuters finding ways to bike to work, whether they live near or far. The commission, which oversees transportation planning for the entire Bay Area, is always working to ease residents’ commutes. I’m glad that this morning’s Energizer Stations kept bicyclists going strong.

At the press conference, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said he wants to increase the number of bike lanes throughout the city. Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group which issued the challenge to local leaders, highlighted local businesses such as Webcor Builders and Lockheed Martin for setting good examples for their employees by supporting Bike to Work Day. As promised, San Jose City Councilmembers Sam Liccardo and Pete Constant rode a tandem bicycle, and their colleague Pierluigi Oliverio rode his own bike alongside.

Even though the morning commute of Bike to Work Day is over, there are more events still to come. Tonight is the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition’s “Bike Away From Work Bash.” Coalition Executive Director Corinne Winter led the pack this morning, and I will join her at Gordon Biersch in downtown San Jose tonight for the bash. The event goes from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

My biking days are far from over. Not only will I continue to bike to work for the rest of this month for the Team Bike Challenge, I will do so as often as possible in the future. I hope all of you learned easy ways to work exercising into your daily schedule.

Thanks to John Storey for taking the photo of me talking with Sam, Chuck, and Pete.

A Vision of Integrated Trails throughout Santa Clara County

The Friends of the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens had a lot to celebrate last night at their annual Window on the River Park event. Executive Director Kathy Muller and hundreds of volunteers could all be proud to hold the event in the River Street Historic Park for the first time.

I have worked with the organization for 10 years now to extend trails throughout our entire valley, and I was pleased to announce that the Guadalupe River Park’s trails will connect to Alviso by November.

The trail will also extend south to connect to Almaden Lake and eventually to the Los Alamitos Trail, allowing anyone to hike, jog, or bike the trail from north San Jose to Almaden Valley.

The grand vision I have is an integrated trail network that connects together the Guadalupe River Trail, the Los Gatos Creek Trail, the Penitencia Creek Trail, the Coyote Creek Trail, the Willow Glen Spur and many others.

I also got a chance to catch up with Leslee Hamilton, president of the Friends’ board of directors and a member of my Team Bike Challenge team, the Rainbow Riders. Our team is eighth out of more than 40 teams competing in Santa Clara County. Leslee and I took a short walk along the Guadalupe River Trail to talk about how bicyclists can incorporate trails into their daily commutes.
Corinne Winter, executive director of the Silicon Valley Bikes Coalition, joined us and reminded us about the official Bike to Work Day festivities on May 17. Energizer stations with free beverages and giveaways will help bicyclists in the morning, and the Silicon Valley Bikes Coalition is throwing a Bike Away from Work Bash from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. that evening at Gordon Biersch in downtown San Jose. I hope to see many of you there.

Kicking off National Bike Month

I hit the bike lanes today to kick off National Bike Month. Bike to Work Day is May 17, and I am bicycling to work for the entire month of May as part of the Team Bike Challenge.

We named our team the Rainbow Riders. Members of each team ride their bikes as much as possible during the month, and teams score points for bicycling to work or school and on errands. Teams receive extra points for having a “Big Wheel,” a member of the team who is an elected official, business executive or member of the media. I am happy to help my teammates by being their “Big Wheel.”

I was surprised to find that biking to the County Government Center was just as easy as driving. My ride took about 15 minutes from my house, about the same amount of time it would take me to drive.

My bike locker is almost as close to my office as my parking space, so I made it to the Board of Supervisors meeting with time to spare, and I enjoy the exercise, too.